More than a third of advisers expect to direct more business to platforms over the next 12 months, according to a report from pension, insurance and investment giant Aegon.
Aegon’s Adviser Attitudes Report ”Technology in the Financial Advice Market” said this rises to nearly half amongst adviser firms with six employees or more. Only 2% of advisers said that they expect to place less business on platforms.
The platform sector is seeing significant growth with total assets under administration increasing by 6% in the first quarter of 2017 to £520 billion €279.8 billion. By 2021 it is expected to exceed £1.2 trillion.
Over 80% of advisers say the top benefit is straight-through processing and the ability to transact without paper.
Two thirds of advisers said the greater convenience and time efficiency that platforms offer clients is the main reason they are beneficial. A similar number cited the value to clients of the wide range of investments available.
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, said: “The new wave of technology in the financial services sector is having a transformative effect, offering opportunities for innovative products and services.
“Platforms in particular are changing the industry, and it’s clear that advisers are positive about the possibilities. Platforms streamline their workloads, but more importantly for them, they enable advisers to better service their clients.”
©2017 funds europe
